EMI Sale Expected To Happen This Week

Len Blavatnik

The sale of EMI is likely to happen by week's end, and THE NEW YORK POST reports it's "turning into a real NEW YORK street fight." The report claims "ACCESS INDUSTRIES' billionaire LEN BLAVATNIK, who recently purchased rival WARNER MUSIC GROUP, is battling it out with REVLON magnate RON PERELMAN." 

"It's BLAVATNIK's to lose," a source told THE POST, "who added that CITI is spending its energies on the BLAVATNIK camp, which would merge EMI's label with WARNER MUSIC. BLAVATNIK will have to fend off a strong counterplay from PERELMAN, the 68-year-old NEW YORK CITY billionaire who is said to be desperate to own the recorded music business."

Last week (NET NEWS 10/21), ALL ACCESS reported CITIGROUP was reportedly close to selling EMI, and was almost certain to split the company in two. Negotiations to sell the more valuable piece, the publishing company, for around $2 billion are said to be taking place with BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT, co-owned by NEW YORK private equity firm KKR and BERTELSMANN, the GERMAN media company.

CITIGROUP has had trouble getting the price it wants for the record company and publishing company together.

THE POST confirms "the KKR-BERTELSMANN-owned joint venture, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT, is widely expected to snag the publishing side of EMI. BERTELSMANN's new CEO-in-waiting, THOMAS RABE, who is based in GERMANY, is in the U.S. doing the rounds."

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